Sanctuaire
by Pilot-Duo
Summary: Quatre attends a local Catholic school where he doesn't quite fit in. Life isn't very kind to him, especially after encountering those of Heaven and Hell. (AU, yaoi, different pairings)
1. Daylight Sanctum

(I do not own Gundam Wing, blah blah blah)  
  
"Daylight Sanctum"  
  
~*~  
  
A large bell rang, signaling that mass was going to begin. Students walked  
into the large, stone church, some hesitant, some socializing, others not  
really caring. At the head of the church stood the statue of the Virgin  
Mary, which had lead the Catholic religion for hundreds upon hundreds of  
years. The surrounding white candles, arranged in perfect order from  
smallest to largest, stood before the statue, glittering it with their  
small, dancing flames, their trails occasionally following a group of  
students.  
  
It was always stuffy inside the church, one student in particular thought  
as he dragged his feet down the aisle. Some crowds of chattering students  
blocked ways into the pews, which annoyed Quatre more. It was only more  
difficult to find a pew all to oneself when most, especially towards the  
back of the cathedral, were filled with small spaces and clusters of  
students.  
  
Thankfully, there was an entire row emptied. Quatre quickly made his way  
towards it, muttering apologies to students as he pushed his way through.  
Turning into the aisle of the pew, he saw that he wouldn't be alone. In  
the far, lonely end of the pew sat a tall brunette, his black book bag  
resting at his side and his hands folded neatly in his lap. Quatre greeted  
Trowa, receiving only a silent nod in return.  
  
Quatre had just arrived at St. Alexandria Catholic School not even a week  
before. Having come from one of the wealthiest families in existence, he  
was immediately shunned from a majority of the student body, no matter how  
strong his social skills were. As he became more distantly acquainted with  
the students, he noticed that one student was shunned just as he. He  
didn't know why Trowa Barton was ignored. He seemed like any other  
student, except for his lack of social skills. Thankfully, he seemed to  
enjoy Quatre's company, though it was quite obvious that he wouldn't be  
admitting it any time soon.  
  
Suddenly, the students sat themselves down and forced themselves quiet. In  
front of the Virgin Mary statue, the bishop stood, flipping through the  
pages of his bible. There was a visit twice a week from the small, elderly  
bishop, and the students showed their respects by obediently casting their  
attention to him every time he made an entrance. To the right of him,  
Quatre noticed, there was a new priest. He stood in his black attire,  
which was accompanied by a silver cross, hair long with a chestnut hue,  
pulled back into a braid.  
  
"Trowa," Quatre whispered, leaning towards the silently boy, "who is that?"  
  
Trowa stared up to the front of the church, his emerald eyes studying the  
unfamiliar figure. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders. Quatre leaned back  
into his seat, watching the new priest closely.  
  
As the bishop began the teachings from his bible, the enigmatic priest  
turned and looked straight into Quatre's eyes. The blonde boy jumped, just  
as the violet eyed priest smiled. He raised a hand to wave quickly, just  
before he turned and disappeared behind the large statue. Quatre's eyes  
were still widened in surprise.  
  
Where the students had entered the church, the door was almost ripped open,  
abruptly. The bishop and the students immediately whipped their heads to  
the opened door and saw a man dressed in a white robe, possessed with a  
head of uncombed chocolate brown hair, scanning his cobalt colored eyes  
about the holy place. Everyone was silent; it seemed as if nobody knew who  
this man was. Quatre himself was quiet surprised. First, the strange  
priest, and now, this oriental looking man at the doorway.  
  
With a shake of his head and a bow for the bishop, the strange man left,  
almost as quickly as he came. As if nothing happened, the bishop continued  
with the lesson, the students focusing back up to him. Quatre glanced at  
Trowa, while the latter did the same. Neither of them knew what just  
happened.  
  
***  
  
The last bell of school rang loudly. With a sigh of relief, Quatre grabbed  
his book bag and instantly headed towards the classroom door. As he  
removed himself from the crowded classroom and pushed his way down the  
small corridor, he heard various students talking about the incident in  
mass earlier that day. Apparently, not even the priests who were at the  
church knew who the man in the white robe was. Nobody mentioned the priest  
with the braid.  
  
"Demons!"  
  
Quatre stopped at his locker and began working at the combination.  
  
"There are demons in the school!"  
  
"It was in the church, Relena. Demons can't go into churches!"  
  
Opening his locker, the blonde began to pay more attention to  
eavesdropping.  
  
"I've seen them before! It doesn't matter if they're in a church or a  
graveyard; that HAD to be a demon! Nobody can leave just like that!"  
  
Students began to laugh.  
  
"Or it could have been an angel, you know! I can see them too!"  
  
The laughter grew. Quatre growled, silently. He slammed his locker shut  
and turned, wanting to leave the school as far behind him as possible. He  
didn't like the school; he wasn't even Catholic. Yet, St. Alexandria  
Catholic School was the closest to a private school available when Quatre  
arrived. His father refused him to be home schooled. He almost hated him  
for that.  
  
Quatre kept his head down as he walked steadily towards the entrance of the  
school, brushing by various students, yet refusing to apologize. There  
were too many people in such a small corridor, talking, laughing, and some  
arguing. There was no sign of Trowa anywhere. Quatre realized how much he  
could use his company right about now, even if he didn't say much. There  
were just too many strange faces, all crowded into one area, seeming as if  
to keep Quatre trapped inside the horrid, ancient building.  
  
As he continued to walk and literally push his way through, a hand reached  
out and firmly grabbed Quatre by the shoulder. With an irritated grunt, he  
turned to see who has a grip on him. He looked up to meet a pair of dark  
brown eyes; into the face of one of the upper classmen, who had golden hair  
cut to his chin.  
  
"Hey," the boy said, literally jerking Quatre around to fully face him,  
"the fuck was that for?"  
  
Quatre kept his annoyance under control. He bit his lower lip, before  
turning his head away from the taller boy.  
  
"Sorry," he muttered. The taller blonde pushed Quatre away from him, and  
then folded his arms over his chest. Looking up to him again, Quatre  
immediately saw that the upperclassman was not alone. He had a small gang  
of three other upperclassmen with him, all about the same height, and two  
with brown hair, another one with dirty blonde.  
  
"Where you goin' so fast?" said the boy in front of Quatre. Quatre quickly  
scanned the four before him, and then slowly began to back away. Reaching  
out and grabbing his shoulder again, the tall blonde yanked Quatre towards  
him.  
  
"I SAID-"  
  
"Let him go, Ian!"  
  
A girl with dusty blonde hair stood to the side, her lips pinched in anger  
and her hands at her hips. The boy who had a grip on Quatre smirked.  
  
"What for, Relena? Is he a fucking angel too?" he said, the gang of three  
behind him laughing. Relena strode up to him and raised a hand, as if to  
strike him. The students who were about the corridor stopped to witness  
the event, curious of what was happening. The pressure of wondering eyes  
began to make Quatre's stomach turn.  
  
"Let him go!" she said, striking Ian across the face, just as Quatre  
thought she would. Ian's reaction caused him to let go of Quatre, as he  
suddenly turned to Relena and grabbed her by the shoulders.  
  
"IAN MCNEIL!!"  
  
Ian stopped and glared at an oncoming teacher. Quatre chose that moment to  
slip away from the scene, unnoticed. Luckily for him, it worked.  
  
***  
  
'I really wish Dad would hire someone to pick me up after school,' Quatre  
thought to himself as he dragged his feet along the concrete sidewalk. He  
really hated walking to and from school. He lived in a rather large, four  
story mansion that sat atop a hill a few dozen blocks from the school.  
Quatre preferred not to ride the school bus, because it was too crowded,  
the same reason why he didn't ride on the public bus. He didn't mind the  
long walk... much. It wasn't that the route itself was long, but the fact  
that he was walking in sometimes crowded streets really irritated him.  
After all, before he was moved to the city, he did live in the spacious  
country.  
  
Up the hill en route to his mansion, Quatre had to pass through an almost  
isolated park. The small trails through it were full of foliage, and weeds  
were beginning to cover up the grassy areas. Only twice had Quatre passed  
some people in the park; it appeared that only couples who wished to leave  
the business of the city and come to a dying, isolated park made  
appearances. Of course, as Quatre thought, the less people, the better.  
  
Halfway through the park, Quatre looked to his left and saw another trail  
that he had never seen before. Curious, he took a couple of steps towards  
it. The evening sun in the sky had just hid itself behind the mountains  
over towering the city, so there wasn't much light to see what was beyond  
the new trail. Quatre allowed his curiosity get the better of him, as he  
began to walk down the unknown trail.  
  
Soon, after walking down the trail for about a minute, Quatre stood in an  
almost completely different landscape than in the park. The surrounding  
trees were full of green leaves, the grass was greener than it had been in  
the park, and there was a crystal clear pond in the center of the scene. A  
large willow tree stood over the pond, protecting its beauty with its long  
leaves.  
  
Quatre heard something suddenly jump in the tree above him, causing its  
leaves to fall before him. Curious, the blonde glanced upwards at the tree  
and waited, expecting to see a cat or a squirrel run out of the tree.  
Neither happened.  
  
With a light shrug, Quatre began to turn around to continue his route home,  
keeping in mind his new discovery. The tree shook again. Stopping mid-  
step, he looked up at the tree again. A sharp chill went through Quatre's  
body as he saw a shadowed figure in the tree, watching him steadily with  
bright, violet eyes.  
  
"Who...?" Quatre began, suddenly unable to find his voice. The shadow with  
the violet eyes blinked, then before he knew what had happened to him,  
Quatre was pinned to the ground, on his back. He grunted loudly and  
struggled, trying to push whatever was on him off. It was strong; it was  
another person.  
  
Having his wrists pinned at either side of him and his legs immobile by the  
weight of the person on top of him, Quatre bit his lower lip and opened his  
eyes. Hovering above him was a young man with the bright, violet eyes, a  
silver cross hanging from his neck, and long, brunette hair pulled back  
into a braid, wearing a priest's outfit...  
  
With a loud gasp, Quatre's eyes widened as he saw the young man suddenly  
let go of one of his wrists and reach behind him to withdraw a long, silver  
rod. After the young man quickly scooted off Quatre's body slightly, he  
saw that what the stranger held was not a rod at all. It was a scythe.  
  
Quatre opened his mouth to yell, or scream, or anything, but he made no  
sound. The stranger held a sadistic smirk upon his face, positioning the  
bladed weapon above his head. Without a word, he swung it down.  
  
Quatre shut his eyes. He felt the weight pulled off his body. There was a  
grunt, a curse, then nothing. Sitting himself up slowly, he hesitantly  
peeked an eye open. In front of him stood a man with short, messy brown  
hair, wearing a white robe, complete with two, large white wings protruding  
out from either of his shoulder blades and arched, ready to give him  
assistance the instant he needed. Quatre instantly recognized him as the  
man from the school's church earlier that day. The young man in the  
priest's outside stood before the angel, his scythe in front of him, and a  
slight trickle of bright, red blood sluggishly making its way down his  
chin. Unlike the angel, he had two giant, black bat-like wings emerging  
from his back.  
  
"... Shit, Heero. Lemme do my work!" the stranger in the priest attire  
yelled, lifting a hand to wipe away the blood from his mouth. The angel  
called Heero narrowed his eyes.  
  
Quatre stood himself up slowly, brushing off his school uniform. He looked  
to the left of Heero and saw another angel, whose wings were arched just as  
the former's. This angel had black hair, tied back into a small, tight  
ponytail. He wore a blue tank top and white pants, his onyx eyes never  
leaving the demon in front of him.  
  
"We're doing -our- work, Duo," said the black haired angel. The demon  
called Duo stood up fully and grasped his silver scythe, tightly.  
  
"Let me kill the boy-" he began. Just than, Heero took a step back towards  
Quatre and extended his arms, as if to shield him.  
  
"No," Heero bluntly replied. Duo glared, and then curled his lips into a  
smirk.  
  
"A shinigami against two cherubim. Your odds don't look too well, Duo,"  
said the black haired angel. Duo kept his smirk, yet Quatre could tell  
that there was a slight nervousness about him. He knew he wasn't going to  
win if he went against the two angels.  
  
"... Fine, I'll let this one slip," he finally said, loosening his grip on  
his scythe and hauling it over his shoulder. He expanded his wings and  
took a step back.  
  
"This one's important; you -know- I'mma come back to get 'em!" he said,  
before taking a backwards leap into the air. With a flap of his wings, he  
was gone.  
  
Quatre stood in place, his mouth open and his body frozen in awe. Heero  
finally turned and stared at him, piercing through his eyes with his sharp  
glare. The blonde almost felt like cowering before him. Without a word,  
Heero leapt into the air, his wings flapping in one, powerful strike, then  
within a blink, he was gone.  
  
The black haired angel turned slightly to look at Quatre. Just as Heero,  
he leapt into the air, and was gone without a word.  
  
Looking down at his hands, Quatre noticed that he was shaking. The sun's  
last rays had faded, and the dark, violet hue of the sky was being  
overpowered by the blue, then the black. It was going to be night soon.  
  
Turning quickly, Quatre left the newly discovered pond, ran along the trail  
of the park up to his mansion, ran into his room, and slammed the door  
shut. He locked his door and windows, completely isolating himself into  
his chambers. He sat on his bed and hugged his knees, still shaking.  
  
Overall, it wasn't a very normal day for Quatre. 


	2. Sacrosanct Guardian

(I do not own Gundam Wing, blah blah blah)  
  
"Sacrosanct Guardian"  
  
~*~  
  
Students closed and slammed their lockers, their loud chatter filling the  
crammed hall of the school. Quatre pushed his way through the conversing  
pupils, rushing to his locker for his notebook for first hour class.  
Frantically, he turned his head left and right, making sure there were no  
signs of Ian McNeil, whatsoever. He knew that the upperclassmen would not  
forget the events that took place that previous day, so Quatre decided that  
it'd be best if he avoided him for a while; exactly how long was  
undetermined.  
  
After gathering his supplies for class, Quatre attempted his best to blend  
in with the student body. He was keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of  
Ian- or his two friends. It was useless looking for Trowa. The silent boy  
usually kept himself hidden until second hour, which Quatre had with him.  
  
With assurance from himself that the halls were clear of the bully and his  
friends, Quatre quickly darted to class.  
  
***  
  
As usual, first hour passed as if it would never end. Almost paranoid,  
Quatre peeked out both ways as he exit his class when the bell rang, like  
he was crossing a street. When he saw the many familiar-yet-unfamiliar  
faces of the student body, he forced his way into the traffic and blended  
in neatly as he strolled his way onto second hour. Finally, he would see  
Trowa, leaning against the front of the door of second hour, seeming to be  
waiting for the blonde.  
  
He didn't see him there this time, of course. Puzzled, he almost ran into  
the classroom, looking for him. He looked to the back of the class in the  
far left corner, where he and Trowa usually sat. Relieved, he saw the tall  
brunette sitting at his usual desk. What made the appearance different was  
that someone was sitting in Quatre's seat, his back to the front door. The  
stranger wore the school uniform and had his short, onyx hair pulled back  
tightly into a small ponytail behind him.  
  
"Excuse me," Quatre began as he approached Trowa and the stranger, "but  
you're in my-"  
  
Trowa looked up at the approaching Quatre, while the black haired stranger  
slowly turned around to face him. Stopping mid-sentence, Quatre felt his  
words catch in his throat. The stranger looked exactly like the black  
haired angel who accompanied Heero yesterday.  
  
The stranger looked down at the seat, then back up to Quatre, in which he  
quickly stood up and bowed, politely, "I was in your seat, wasn't I?  
Excuse me."  
  
Quatre stared at the Asian boy before him in awe. The new student  
obviously didn't have wings protruding from his shoulder blades as the  
angel had, and gave no reconciliation on whether he knew Quatre or not. He  
simply turned and began to walk away from him.  
  
"Wait!" Quatre said, making the boy stop and turn around. He stared at the  
blonde with a blank expression.  
  
"... Don't I... know you?" the confused Quatre asked, almost hesitant. The  
stranger continued to stare at him with the blank expression.  
  
"Never saw you before in my life," he said, turning around to fully face  
Quatre, "the name's Wu Fei Chang."  
  
Quatre stared at Wu Fei for a moment, his mind picturing the angel in his  
place. They were identical, as if they were clones. They bore the same  
onyx colored eyes, hair, slanted eyes...  
  
"And you must be Quatre?" asked Wu Fei. Quatre nodded slowly.  
  
"Trowa told me quite a lot about you already. You're fairly new here at  
this school yourself, correct?" he asked. Quatre's brow perked up,  
gradually changing his glance to Trowa out of the corner of his eye. His  
friend ducked behind his bang.  
  
"He did, did he?" the blonde asked. Wu Fei nodded, glancing at Trowa,  
himself. The latter boy turned his back towards the two and withdrew his  
notebook for the class, purposely attempting to ignore them. Quatre felt  
himself smile.  
  
Just then, the bell signaling second hour rang, loudly. Quatre sat in his  
seat as Wu Fei was able to find himself a seat not too far from him. Trowa  
was still hiding behind his notebook.  
  
***  
  
Lunch quickly rolled about the corner. Not having possessed much of an  
appetite since he transferred schools, Quatre always accompanied Trowa  
during the short break, for Trowa hardly ever ate, also.  
  
Just as in the beginning of second hour, Quatre spotted Trowa just outside  
of the cafeteria with Wu Fei. Once again, the two were involved deeply in  
yet another conversation. Trowa leaned against the stone wall that lead  
into the cafeteria, while Wu Fei stood next to him, arms folded as he  
carefully observed the students walking about.  
  
"Trowa~!" Quatre called, quickly making his way towards the two. Wu Fei  
unfolded his arms and took a step back, allowing the smaller boy into the  
conversation.  
  
"How's your morning been, Wu Fei?" Quatre asked as he stood opposite of Wu  
Fei, next to Trowa.  
  
"Could've been better," the Asian replied, sarcastically, "boring as hell,  
here."  
  
"Very..." Trowa said, quietly. Quatre nodded in agreement, and then turned  
his gaze to Wu Fei.  
  
"Where do you come from, Wu Fei?" he asked.  
  
"China," he replied. At that, Trowa turned his gaze to him.  
  
"That's a long way," he remarked. Quatre and Wu Fei nodded in agreement.  
  
"What made you move here?" the curious blonde asked.  
  
"Parents moved here. Not much else I could do, really," he answered,  
"their job made them move here."  
  
Just as Quatre opened his mouth to ask another question, a hand was placed  
on his shoulder and whipped his body around, swiftly.  
  
"Hey-" Quatre began, and then soon lifted his gaze up to Ian McNeil, who  
held a smirk upon his face.  
  
"Hey what?" the taller blonde asked, as his three followers stood behind  
him. Quickly, Wu Fei stepped behind Quatre. He was shorter than Ian, yet  
taller than Quatre.  
  
Ian glanced down at Wu Fei, and then folded his arms over his chest,  
calmly.  
  
"You new?" he asked the onyx haired student. Wu Fei kept silent, staring  
at Ian with a fierce gaze which would have easily made Quatre cower, the  
shorter blonde thought as he glanced behind him.  
  
"Hey look Wyatt, it's your bitch!" One of the two brunettes behind Ian  
called out to the dirty blonde. Quatre looked to the brunette's gaze and  
saw Trowa still leaning against the wall, his head hung and looking at the  
ground.  
  
"Fuck off, Mike!" Wyatt called back. Just as Quatre attempted to speak  
once again, Ian grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and jerked him  
towards him.  
  
"You're lucky I'm in detention today, faggot," he growled. Just then, Wu  
Fei stepped to Quatre's aid and planted his knuckled fist into Ian's gut.  
Ian let out a sudden grunt, releasing his hold on Quatre's shirt. The  
smaller boy quickly stepped back towards Trowa.  
  
Ian raised his head slowly, giving Wu Fei a glare that was just as strong  
as Wu Fei's stare. Taking a calm step back, Wu Fei held his arms behind  
his back, challenging Ian to strike at him. Before Ian could do such a  
thing, the same teacher from yesterday quickly approached him.  
  
"IAN MCNEIL~!!"  
  
"Awe shit... It's Sally," the unnamed brunette muttered. Just then, a  
woman with light brown hair and slightly slanted, light blue eyes stepped  
between the boys. She stood before Ian and stared straight into his face.  
  
"You're only supposed to retrieve your lunch and report directly back to  
detention!" she growled. Ian bit his lower lip, and then took a step back.  
  
"You're not the detention officer," he retorted. Sally continued to stare  
at him.  
  
"I'm the nurse; I can still report you to detention, just as I did  
yesterday," she said. During that brief time, Quatre once again chose to  
slip out of the scene; this time, he was accompanied by Wu Fei and Trowa.  
  
***  
  
"You all right, Quatre?" Wu Fei asked as the trio walked along the quiet,  
ancient buildings. Quatre nodded slowly, and then turned to Trowa.  
  
"I'm more concerned about you and Trowa," he said. At that, Trowa peeked  
up from his stare at the ground.  
  
"Ah, don't be worried 'bout me. You all right, Trowa?" Wu Fei asked.  
Trowa nodded slowly, though Wu Fei didn't see him. Quatre pouted in  
concern.  
  
"You don't seem okay, Trowa," he stated. The tall boy shook his head.  
  
"I'm fine," he muttered. Quatre stared at his friend briefly, before  
shrugging and continuing to walk aimlessly.  
  
"So what's the deal with you and him?" Wu Fei asked, curious.  
  
"Well, yesterday, I guess I... was just at the wrong place at the wrong  
time. Ran into the bad side of him by accident," he responded. Wu Fei  
nodded his head, as Trowa continued to walk silently.  
  
"Trowa, are you sure that you're all right?" Quatre asked, worried.  
  
"Yes," Trowa said. Once again, Quatre pouted.  
  
***  
  
After school, Quatre didn't bother to attend his locker. Instead, he  
headed straight from class to home. He didn't feel like putting up with  
Ian's bullying, especially when he knew that he was quite at a  
disadvantage.  
  
The tired Arabian dragged his feet, kicking up foliage as he walked through  
the silent park. His memory was all to clear of the strange events of  
yesterday; the demon and the angels. He was rather curious of why Wu Fei  
resembled the black haired cherub so much; it -had- to be more than a  
coincidence... right?  
  
"Hey."  
  
Quatre stopped in his tracks and slowly lifted his gaze upwards. His heart  
almost skipped a beat.  
  
"Your name's Quatre, right?"  
  
Quatre quickly turned to the opposite direction and began to run as fast as  
his legs would carry. Nobody else was in the park, so obviously, he had  
nobody to turn to.  
  
"Wait~!"  
  
Quatre continued to run, not risking stopping and having his head chopped  
off by the sadistic shinigami named Duo from yesterday, whose wings were  
absent today.  
  
"Wait, dammit!"  
  
Quatre bumped right into Duo, who had somehow managed to maneuver in front  
of him. Grabbing his shoulders tightly, Duo pulled Quatre back and  
tightened his grip on him.  
  
"I'm not gonna kill ya!" he said. Quatre shook his head quickly and  
struggled frantically to free himself.  
  
"I don't believe that!" he retorted. Duo wrapped his arms around him and  
pulled Quatre against his chest, immediately immobilizing him. Quatre  
gasped, and then stopped his struggles.  
  
"I just wanna know... What makes you so special, Quatre? Why are you being  
protected by not one, but... two angels?" Duo asked, his voice lowering.  
Quatre could feel the shinigami's heart beat against his chest. It only  
made him more nervous.  
  
"I don't know! Let me go!" the small boy said, struggling once again. Duo  
tightened his arms around Quatre's thin frame, attempting to make the boy  
stop struggling.  
  
"You should know, little one," Duo said, his voice in half a whisper. Just  
then, Quatre kicked his shin. Duo grunted and loosened his grip, then  
quickly drew him closer.  
  
"I'm not going to kill you!" he repeated. Quatre ceased his struggling  
once more.  
  
"...prove it," he growled. Duo smirked, and then placed his hand behind  
Quatre's head. The latter boy felt his head spin and closed his eyes  
quickly as Duo held him closely.  
  
"LET ME GO!!" he shouted, his eyes tightly shut. Suddenly, he felt Duo's  
grasp loosen, and then release him completely. He steadily opened his eyes  
and looked about, recognizing the familiar scene of his room.  
  
"Told'ja I'm not gonna kill ya," said the braided demon, the smirk still  
upon his face. Quatre looked about cautiously in his room. He could hear  
the familiar voices of his mansion's inhabitants outside his door. Yes,  
this was his room, all right.  
  
"Now if you'll excuse me," Duo said, walking up to a large window in  
Quatre's room. Quickly, then blonde turned around and reached out, but he  
was too late. Duo jumped out of the window.  
  
~*~  
  
"I'm not gonna kill ya... yet." 


	3. Irreverently Virtuous

(I do not own Gundam Wing, blah blah blah)  
  
"Irreverently Virtuous"  
  
~*~  
  
"Glad you could accompany me this evening, Milliardo."  
  
The tall blonde and his assistant Noin sat themselves down in the small  
booth inside the tiny coffee shop. Seated before them was a tall, short  
haired man with light brown hair and his assistant, a woman with her hair  
braided up on either side of her head, attended with glasses upon her face.  
The couple looked to the previous two as they seated themselves.  
  
"Forgive us for being late Treize; it's been a busy day today," said  
Milliardo.  
  
"As I heard," said Treize, with a quick nod from his partner, Une.  
  
A petite waitress approached the table, offering the four occupants glasses  
of water. All were accepted, in which she left just as quickly as she  
came.  
  
"Wonderful, isn't it?" Treize asked as he watched the young waitress  
disappear behind the counter. Milliardo watched her for a moment himself,  
and then turned to the light haired man.  
  
"What is?" he asked, curious. A small smirk crept its way onto Treize's  
face as he leaned back against the seat in the booth.  
  
"Life. It's one of the most fascinating features ever to grace itself on  
the face of this universe. Never can I keep away from gazing at its beauty  
for so long," he mentioned. Milliardo formed a smirk of his own as he  
folded his arms over his chest and leaned back himself.  
  
"Fascinating, how you speak of life in such a manner," he said. Treize  
leisurely turned his gaze to the blonde, a brow perked.  
  
"And why do you say this?" he asked. Just then, the petite waitress  
quickly approached the booth and quickly handed each person their glass of  
water. She glanced over her shoulder as she turned away and gave Treize a  
quick wink, then continued on her way. Une's lips frowned in disapproval,  
yet her superior merely smirked again.  
  
"Because, dear Treize, you -do- deny these living beings their very  
existence, don't you?" he asked. Noin folded her arms calmly over her lap  
as she nodded in agreement. Treize glanced to his left to look outside the  
window.  
  
"As an undead servant of Hell, it's my duty," he said. Une nodded in  
agreement.  
  
Looking closely outside, Treize noticed a sudden familiar looking figure.  
The small, blonde boy was quickly making his way up the bust street, his  
head held lo, his gaze avoiding others.  
  
"Look who it is," Treize muttered, half to himself. Milliardo looked out  
the window.  
  
"Hmph. Your latest victim, I see," he said.  
  
"Quatre Winner," Treize said as he continued to watch Quatre make his way  
quickly about the busy street. Silence ensured between the four occupants  
for a moment, the air growing heavy as Treize and Milliardo watched the  
unaware victim hurry himself home, unknowing of the eyes that followed him  
steadily.  
  
"You've already taken action in protecting my victim, haven't you,  
Milliardo?"  
  
"Is it that obvious?"  
  
"Of course. My shinigami informed me of them. Heero and Wu Fei, correct?  
The troublesome two," Treize said. Milliardo stopped looking outside the  
window and faced his opponent instead.  
  
"I must inform you, dear friend, my angels never fail to complete their  
mission," he said. Treize leisurely turned his head to face the angel  
sitting before him.  
  
"And my shinigami never misses his target, dear Zechs."  
  
~*~  
  
It was morning. The students in St. Alexandria were busy gathering their  
supplies for their first hour classes. As yesterday, Quatre was busy  
rushing to and from his clocker, looking around every corner to make sure  
the coast was clear of Ian McNeil. Perhaps he was being too paranoid, yet  
he didn't wish to start any conflicts with the upperclassmen, especially  
after the past couple of encounters. He began to wonder if Ian's friends  
were also on the look out for him. Or possibly even looking for Trowa and  
Wu Fei... After all, the two -were- accompanying him, and Wu Fei -did-  
attack Ian... A deep sinking feeling began to settle in Quatre's stomach.  
  
'I hate dodging around like this, but I don't want to get into any  
conflict! Father wouldn't be too happy if I were sent home due to physical  
violence,' he thought to himself, darting around another corner. Suddenly,  
he saw one of Ian's friends making his way down the hall. Quatre felt his  
heart skip a beat. Wyatt was his name, correct? It was him and the other  
one... Mike, that seemed to be referring to Trowa that previous day.  
  
'I wonder if Trowa has had any problems with them in the past?' he asked  
himself. Quickly, he darted across the hallway out of Wyatt's eye sight  
and entered his first hour class. Close call.  
  
***  
  
"You! You know where Quatre is, don't you?!"  
  
Looking over his shoulder, Trowa glanced down at Relena, who steadily made  
her way towards him. Quietly, he shook his head, yet the small girl  
continued to make her way towards him. It was lunchtime, and the numbers  
of students making their way to the cafeteria were many. Relena approached  
the tall boy, and then looked around him, as if he were hiding Quatre.  
  
"This is important! I've got to tell him something!" she said. Just then,  
Wu Fei approached the two, calmly.  
  
"What do you have to tell him?" the Chinese asked. Suddenly, Relena stood  
back, her eyes growing wide in disbelief. Trowa glanced down at Wu Fei,  
and then back to Relena, who seemed as if she had just seen a ghost. Wu  
Fei continued to stare at her, completely tranquil.  
  
"You can tell us, and we'll tell him," he said. Relena shook her head  
quickly. She took a few more steps back, and then jerked her hand forward,  
pointing an accusing finger at Wu Fei.  
  
"You're... You're an angel, aren't you?!" she yelled. Wu Fei stared at her  
with the same, tranquil expression. Trowa arched a brow. Relena took  
another step backwards, never withdrawing her pointing finger.  
  
"What are YOU doing here?! Angels aren't allowed here!" she yelled. A  
couple of students walking past turned their heads at the growing scene.  
That didn't stop Relena, of course.  
  
"Get out of here, you! You're not welcome here!" she continued to yell.  
More students began to turn their heads. Trowa sighed, and then stepped in  
front of Wu Fei, who continued to stand in front of the loud girl without  
any expression.  
  
"Relena, go to lunch," the tall boy said. Relena narrowed her eyes and  
lowered her hand.  
  
"You're NOT supposed to be here!" she called to Wu Fei, before quickly  
turning her back on the two and disappearing amongst the crowd of staring  
students making their way to the cafeteria. Trowa sighed irritably, and  
then turned around to Wu Fei.  
  
"Don't mind Relena. She's known to be a bit... delusional," he said. Wu  
Fei turned his gaze up to him.  
  
"Oh, I don't mind at all. Girl has a good sight," he commented. Trowa  
perked another brow, and then shook his head.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Trowa!"  
  
Trowa and Wu Fei turned around, and then saw Quatre making his way towards  
them, completely unaware of what just happened, or even about the news that  
Ian was out of detention and informed his peers that he was out for Quatre-  
and Wu Fei.  
  
***  
  
Quatre sat in his desk during his last hour class, not really paying  
attention to the teacher giving a lesson on history. Instead, he was  
gazing out of the window of the second floor, watching leaves from the  
trees fall to the ground. The school campus was in a state of tranquility  
when class was in session, no students or teachers anywhere except in the  
classrooms. The day was truly a nice day; too bad it had to be spent  
indoors.  
  
With a sigh, Quatre looked down at his notebook in front of him, which  
contained a couple of scribbles of notes from class. He looked up at the  
teacher, who was writing down more notes to take onto the chalkboard. This  
was boring, to say the least.  
  
Looking back down at the almost-empty piece of paper again, Quatre began to  
think of what Trowa was doing. Was he sitting in his class, just as bored  
as he was? Or perhaps he had a physical activity class, were he was  
actually doing something? He didn't know his schedule. Was he bored, or  
was he occupied? Was he sitting in a desk taking notes, or writing on a  
test? Or was he even up and about, doing his activities for a particular  
class? If he was sitting in a desk, as bored as Quatre was, was he  
thinking about... him?  
  
The mere thought made a faint blush sneak its way onto Quatre's cheeks. He  
wondered what Trowa thought about him? Did he notice him in "that way"?  
Or did he pay him no heed, just as another face in the crowd? At the  
least, Quatre hoped Trowa saw him as a friend, though he would really like  
it if he saw him as something more...  
  
'I'm not going to kill you!'  
  
What about Duo? Quatre quickly shook his head at the thought of the  
shinigami. What did he want with Quatre, anyways? He doubted he just  
wanted to harass him, or pick on him to pass time. He should have  
something better to do, right? Well, better than sitting in class and  
taking notes, at least.  
  
Suddenly, the last bell of the day rang loudly. Almost instantly, students  
rose from their desks and began heading towards the door, crowding its  
frame as they attempted to make their way out of the boring classroom as  
fast as they could. Quatre calmly stood and gathering his belongings, soon  
making his way out of the room along with the remaining students, ready to  
make his long walk home.  
  
***  
  
"Quatre."  
  
Quatre looked up from his locker. School went by awfully quick that day,  
much to Quatre's relief. Thus far, no encounters with Ian or his friends,  
excluding the spotting of Wyatt and Mike that morning.  
  
"Yes, Trowa?"  
  
"Let me walk you home," the brunette stated, slightly startling the blonde.  
Quatre closed his locker, slowly.  
  
"I... don't mean to be rude or anything Trowa, but... why?" he asked. He  
felt his face beginning to grow warm... Oh great, not now!  
  
"Just... allow me to walk you home, Quatre," Trowa restated, then quickly  
took Quatre's hand into his grasping it tightly. Quatre gasped softly, and  
then allowed himself to be lead by the taller boy. If he wasn't blushing  
earlier, he definitely was now.  
  
***  
  
"So... why are you walking me home, Trowa?" Quatre asked as they both  
walked up the street towards Quatre's mansion. Trowa kept silently,  
looking down at the concrete sidewalk as they made their way.  
  
"Trowa...?" Quatre asked again. They were approaching the park near his  
home.  
  
"Quatre," Trowa began, leisurely lifting his head up. He was looking ahead  
of them.  
  
"... There was a rumor going around the school that Ian was out looking for  
you, and Wu Fei. I know it's just a rumor, but I didn't want to take any  
chances," he said. Quatre felt his face becoming warm again. Dammit, of  
all times.  
  
"O-Oh? That's... really nice of you, Trowa," said the small blonde,  
lowering his gaze to the sidewalk. Trowa nodded silently, and then  
continued.  
  
"I looked for Wu Fei after school, but he disappeared already. Thankfully,  
I was able to find you," he said, without looking at Quatre.  
  
The two entered the park, and were now kicking up fallen leaves as they  
made their way through it. Every now and then, a bird could be heard  
flying to and from a tree. The business of the city immediately  
disappeared the moment they entered the park.  
  
"Trowa, where do you live? I could have one of the servants give you a  
ride home," said the blonde.  
  
"No thanks. I'll be fine," he said. Quatre stopped and stepped in front  
of Trowa.  
  
"No, I gotta repay you! At -least- take my offer!" he said. Trowa opened  
his mouth to reply.  
  
There was a rustle of bushes behind Quatre, then a loud grunt, and soon  
after, a yelp. Immediately, both boys turned and stared at the rustling  
bushes. There was another yelp, then a scream. There were two different  
voices from the bushes.  
  
"What the..." Quatre asked to himself, taking a step backwards towards  
Trowa. The two continued to watch the bushes, when suddenly, Mike and  
Ian's other brunette groupie literally jumped out of the bushes, blood and  
scratches obvious on their skin and clothes. Without a word, the two  
bullies ran from the park, as if their lives depended on it. Quatre had  
already leapt into Trowa's arms.  
  
Suddenly, there was laughter of amusement from behind the bushes in the  
trees.  
  
"DON'T EVEN -THINK- ABOUT MESSING WITH A SHINIGAMI, BITCHES!!"  
  
Quatre couldn't help but roll his eyes at the sound of Duo's voice, yet he  
was grateful of his deed. Trowa stood speechless and confused, unaware of  
Quatre's acquaintance with the shinigami.  
  
And Quatre wasn't going to tell him anytime soon, either. 


	4. Surreptitious Attraction

(I do not own Gundam Wing, blah blah blah)  
  
"Surreptitious Attraction"  
  
~*~  
  
"Trowa, please! I'll get someone to take you home! It'd be much faster,  
and your parents won't have to worry!"  
  
"..."  
  
"Wait right here, I'll be back, okay?"  
  
"..."  
  
"See? That didn't take long, Tro-....wa? Trowa? Where'd you go...?  
Trowa? Trowa~!"  
  
***  
  
Wu Fei sat back in the pew, his arms folded over his chest. Quatre  
continued.  
  
"I didn't even get to thank him for walking me home... Was it because of  
something I said, or something I did? I feel so bad... I even walked back  
to the park and he wasn't there! Is he okay? What if something happened  
to him? What if Ian's friends got to him? What if-"  
  
"I'm sure he's just not feeling well, Quatre. You should call him after  
school," said the Chinese. Quatre pouted and slumped back into the pew,  
staring down at his hands.  
  
"I... I don't have his phone number..." he replied. Wu Fei glanced at him,  
his arms unfolding.  
  
"Why don't you?" he asked. Quatre immediately felt his cheeks blush at Wu  
Fei's words.  
  
"Uhh... I... err..."  
  
"Ssh, mass is about to begin," Wu Fei whispered, before looking up to the  
head of the church, refolding his arms. Quatre continued to blush, and  
then looked down at the floor. People around him stood up as mass began,  
including Wu Fei. Noticing this, Quatre soon followed. He forced himself  
to look ahead.  
  
Since Quatre and Wu Fei sat at the back of the church, a majority of what  
they saw were the back of student's heads. That never bothered Quatre,  
mainly because he wasn't Catholic.  
  
'Should I ask for Trowa's phone number? Would he give it to me? What if  
he doesn't? What if he asks why I want it? I only want it so that, if  
he's in trouble, I can check on him...' Suddenly, a bright, red blush  
overtook Quatre's face, mid-thought, 'What if he finds out that... that I  
like him?'  
  
As the bishop continued with the opening mass, something instantly caught  
Quatre's eye- a braided priest with striking, violet eyes. His heart began  
to pound heavily, recognizing the priest as Duo. The latter didn't seem to  
notice him, for he was absently flipping through the pages of the bible,  
attempting to find his place so he could keep up with the bishop. Quatre  
slowly leaned over towards Wu Fei and tugged on his sleeve.  
  
"Wu Fei," he whispered, his eyes never leaving the shinigami, "look-"  
  
"Ssh!" Wu Fei snapped. Quatre paused long enough to stare at Wu Fei  
curiously, never guessing that the Chinese would be so into the opening  
mass. He pulled away his hand at the thought, and then turned his gaze  
back to the front of the church. Duo was gone! Scanning his gaze almost  
frantically about the front of the church, the blonde looked for any signs  
of the braided demon's presence. Just then, all were called to be seated.  
  
"Sit down," Wu Fei whispered to him, noticing that Quatre was the only one  
still standing. Quatre, without actually listening to the command, sat  
down, his head turning either way in search of Duo. Absently, he picked up  
a bible from the back of the pew in front of him and opened it to a random  
page, silently mimicking Wu Fei's actions, as the Chinese boy was fallowing  
along with the rest of the students and the bishop.  
  
'Where did you go?' Quatre mentally asked Duo. Directing his gaze to his  
right, Quatre's heart almost skipped. The shinigami was leaning against  
the wall, arms folded over his chest, keeping an eye on the students.  
Feeling the sudden urge to announce his presence, Quatre gripped his bible  
tightly. Duo was just on the other side of the church...!  
  
The blonde nudged Wu Fei to catch his attention, but Wu Fei was too into  
the bible before him to notice. Quatre tore his gaze from the demon  
momentarily, and then realized his mistake. He looked back to where the  
demon was, only to find an empty wall, with no occupant. Quatre was  
beginning to wonder if Duo was playing games with him.  
  
Another small quest to look for Duo began, as Quatre roamed his eyes  
throughout the cramped space of the church. Trying not to look too obvious  
to the priests that he was completely ignoring the sermon, he continued his  
search left and right, ahead of himself, and even looking behind himself.  
The shinigami made no sign that he was anywhere in sight.  
  
About five minutes had passed since Quatre spotted Duo leaned against the  
wall, and he was beginning to give up hope of finding him again. Wu Fei  
was obediently following along in his bible, never lifting his eyes to any  
of his surroundings, while Quatre hadn't even looked at the page. Just as  
his eyes were about to scan the incorrect page, he had the sudden urge to  
look upwards at one of the stained glass windows, like something was  
drawing his unconscious mind to the sight. Reluctantly shifting his sea  
colored eyes to one of the large, stained glass windows of the ancient  
church, the blonde felt his heart almost skip a beat. There, casually  
sitting on the frame of one of the glass stained windows featuring an angel  
with unusual black wings, was Duo, one knee lifted and the other dangling  
carelessly to the side. Quatre's eyes widened. He was still in his priest  
attire- wouldn't any of the other priests say anything?  
  
Duo had his eyes set down on the bishop below, a smirk upon his face. He  
didn't have his wings present, but what Quatre found strange was that, in  
the shadows against the window, was the outline of two great demon wings  
protruding from Duo's upper back. None of the students or priests in the  
church seemed to mind, or even notice, the shinigami sitting upon the  
window sill. Quatre reached out a hand and tapped Wu Fei on the shoulder,  
only to get a grunt in reply. He tapped him again and Wu Fei shrugged him  
off, not wanting to take his eyes off the bible. At the third tap, Wu Fei  
growled without looking from the bible, "Wait 'til after sermon!"  
  
Quatre turned to Wu Fei absently with a reply, but in that split second  
realized his mistake. Looking back up to the window with the angel with  
black wings, Quatre saw nobody.  
  
***  
  
A disappointed Quatre hung his head as he and Wu Fei stood up from the pew,  
getting ready to follow the crowd of students out of the emptying church.  
The bell had rung for lunch, which would mean the church wouldn't be  
inhabited until after the break period had ended. All the students inside  
the stuffy church headed towards the entrance, most of them glad to be out  
of that 'boring' sermon.  
  
"Hey, Wu Fei?" Quatre asked as he and the Chinese stood at the end of the  
pew, waiting for the compacted line of students to thin out before  
attempting to leave.  
  
"What?" Wu Fei asked without turning around. The stuffy air of the church  
was beginning to bother him, greatly. Quatre lowered his head as he kept  
his hand on the back of the pew in front of them.  
  
"Did you see that-" he began, just before he lifted his gaze to catch a  
glimpse of Wu Fei getting caught in the swarm of students. He closed his  
mouth and sighed, hanging his head once more. Was something on Wu Fei's  
mind to make him purposely avoid him this way? It was bad enough that  
Trowa wasn't at school that day, but to have Wu Fei acting somewhat  
avoidant was really bothering the blonde.  
  
"Looking for me?"  
  
Quatre slowly turned around, soon before unconsciously jumping back. Duo,  
in his priest attire, stood behind him with a grin on his face, his hands  
in his pockets.  
  
"What are -you- doing here?!" Quatre asked sharply, after recomposing  
himself. Duo shrugged one shoulder.  
  
"I work here. Is there a law against that?" he asked.  
  
"A demon isn't supposed to be inside a church!" Quatre hissed. The  
students exiting the church quickly began to decline, as now teachers and  
priests were making their way out. At the line slowly diminishing, Duo  
walked towards the stone wall at the end of the pew, and then nodded for  
Quatre to follow him. An uneasy expression clearly written upon his face,  
the smaller boy reluctantly followed. Duo was leading him to the back of  
the church, behind many of the lit candles to where small statues of angels  
and saints stood, paintings of religious figures behind him.  
  
After having been lead to a stone pillar, Quatre realized that he held one  
hand in a nervous fist. This was a church, so Duo couldn't kill him,  
right? Then again, it was said that demons weren't supposed to be inside  
churches; Duo obviously defied this law.  
  
"What do you want?" the Arabic asked, directly. Duo folded his arms and  
leaned with his back against the pillar. By now, just about all the  
students in the church had left.  
  
"I wanted to tell you something," the braided demon said. Quatre exhaled  
and rested one hand upon his hip, gradually releasing his fist.  
  
"Obviously. What did you want to tell me? You're going to kill me?"  
Quatre asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he ended his sentence. At  
the entrance of the church, the two tall doors were heard, closing loudly.  
  
"Ah, you know that already," Duo began, gradually lifting his head and  
turning to Quatre. His yard-long braid fell at his right shoulder,  
dangling next to his hips. Unfolding his arms, he slowly removed himself  
from the pillar. Just as he did so, Quatre took a step back, as if ready  
to run the moment Duo turned on him. The demon chuckled slightly at the  
boy's action.  
  
"I'm not gonna kill ya here, Quat," he said, turning his back to Quatre and  
looking up to a large mural before him, which featured a detailed painting  
of the Crucifix, "I could never do such a thing in such a holy place."  
  
"How can you even come inside here? I thought that all demons weren't  
allowed in-"  
  
"Ah, a common mistake," Duo said, turning back around to the blonde. His  
braid swished from side to side at his back, gliding along his shoulder  
blades, where his wings would be, "and I'm betting that you still think  
that all demons are bad and all angels are good, huh?"  
  
Quatre bit his lower lip somewhat, his eyes fixed steadily onto the  
shinigami before him, who held a smirk upon his sly features. Duo  
continued.  
  
"Basically, all I wanted to say is that, though I have to kill you, it's  
nothing personal," he said, grinning suddenly. Quatre lifted a brow and  
tilted his head.  
  
"You said you wouldn't kill m-"  
  
"I said I wouldn't kill you -yesterday-," the brunette corrected. Quatre  
felt his fist forming again. Was Duo playing games with him on purpose?  
  
"You see, I'm going to have to kill you, but I'm just letting you know that  
it's nothing personal. Just doing my job, y'know?"  
  
Quatre turned around on his heel, growing irritated by Duo's cocky  
attitude, "You said being a priest was your job."  
  
"Naw, that's my day job," said the shinigami, the grin still on his face.  
Quatre growled, then steadily began heading towards the entrance of the  
church. 'Just great. I have a sarcastic demon on my trail that's only  
going to kill me for his job...'  
  
Suddenly, Duo was at Quatre's side, walking along with his stride. The  
latter turned his head away and continued walking.  
  
"Hey, if you had a job to do, wouldn't -you- do it? C'mon, you should  
understand..."  
  
Abruptly, Quatre stopped and turned to Duo, his eyes narrowed in a rare  
glare.  
  
"SO-RRY that I don't understand WHY you've got to take my LIFE!" the blonde  
hissed through his teeth. Duo grinned at him once again, though he took a  
step back and quickly held up his palms to the angered student before him.  
  
"Hey, hey! Didn't mean to upset ya!"  
  
Quatre turned on his heel once again and began walking hastily towards the  
two, giant wooden doors at the entrance of the church, his strides quick.  
  
"I'm going. I've got better things on my min-"  
  
Quatre was cut off from his sentence by Duo swiftly stepping before him,  
stopping him by grabbing his arm, then firmly pressing his lips against the  
boy's. Quatre's eyes widened considerably at the act.  
  
In both anger and shock, Quatre pushed Duo away from him, his face blushing  
a gradual deep red, "W-What are you doing?!"  
  
Duo laughed as he was pushed away. Quatre's eyes were still wide as he  
lifted a hand to his face, shielding his lips from the demon. His heart  
was racing, and by now, his cheeks were flushed crimson.  
  
"First kiss is always great, huh Quat?" Duo asked, turning his back before  
Quatre, and then peered over his shoulder. Unknowing if his face could be  
any shade darker than it already was, the pale boy turned once again and  
sprinted for the door, wanting to get away from the shinigami who made his  
heart race and his face flush- not only because of embarrassment.  
  
***  
  
"There he is!"  
  
"That him?"  
  
"Yeah, the one that Trowa was with!"  
  
"After school... We'll get him after school..." 


	5. Devoted Dexterity

(I do not own Gundam Wing, blah blah blah)  
  
"Devoted Dexterity"  
  
~*~  
  
"Ne, Duo!"  
  
Duo stopped what he was doing- dusting one of the windows of the church.  
The tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He didn't dare turn  
around.  
  
"How come you didn't tell me Treize gave you a new mission? I was looking  
all OVER for you!"  
  
Duo grinned nervously, though he was still facing the window. Quickly, he  
began dusting it frantically, in hopes of ignoring the smaller demon that  
stood behind him, her wings present and her hands behind her waist.  
  
"Duo? Are you listening to me?"  
  
Still ignoring her, Duo forced himself to hum some miscellaneous tune while  
he cleaned the window. Though it was already clean, he acted as it  
weren't.  
  
"Duo!!" the smaller demon yelled, "pay attention to me!"  
  
Duo flinched at those words, hesitantly setting down the feather duster.  
He slowly turned around to the demon, the nervous grin apparent on his face  
as he did so.  
  
"Hilde, why, what are you doing here?"  
  
Hilde glared at the shinigami, soon before folding her arms stubbornly over  
her small chest. She huffed, turning her head to the side. Duo stopped  
grinning and tilted his head at her.  
  
"I've been looking all over for you, and here you are, playing some  
PRIEST," she said with disgust, "in some small church! If I never asked  
Treize himself where you were, I'd STILL be looking for you, both in  
Gehenna AND this world!"  
  
Duo's nervous grin returned. He turned away from her and grabbed the  
feather duster again, casually walking up to the next window. Hilde turned  
her head back to him, and then glared as he moved away from her. Quickly,  
she leapt over to him and wrapped her arms around him from behind.  
  
"Duo, I'm your student! You're not supposed to leave me behind!"  
  
The shinigami paused before he began working on the next window, and  
instead, slowly turned towards Hilde once more.  
  
"This is a pretty big mission, Hilde. You're still too green to take this  
one on," he said. Hilde pouted as she looked up at him, her arms still  
wrapped tightly around his waist.  
  
"I thought so. When I heard from Treize that Milliardo and his two angels  
were involved, I kind of got worried..."  
  
Duo shook his head and went back to dusting the window. Hilde buried her  
face in his shirt.  
  
"I know that you're one of the best shinigami out there, but... But what  
about Heero? I mean, you knew each other when you were both living, ri-"  
  
At the smaller demon's words, Duo turned around quickly, pushing her back  
from him instantly. He glared dangerously at her.  
  
"What did I say about bringing things up from our past lives, Hilde?!"  
  
Hilde stared at Duo, shocked by his sudden reaction. She pouted once more,  
casting her eyes down to the floor. She drew her hands behind her back  
once more, locking her fingers into a tight hold to each other.  
  
"That the past is the past and now is what we should be worried about..."  
  
"Good demon," Duo said, turning back to the dirtied window.  
  
"I'm sorry, Duo... Can I help you on this mission?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?" she asked, turning her gaze back from the floor to the braided  
demon's back.  
  
"I can handle this one on my own. You're too green for this kind of  
thing," he replied. Soon after, he finished dusting that window.  
Casually, he walked past her and he approached the next window, right away  
going to work on it.  
  
"Besides, if you're going to be inside a church, remove your wings. If you  
don't, you'll scare the nuns."  
  
~*~  
  
Quatre sighed leisurely, gathering up his supplies form his locker after  
school. The crowding mass of students once more filled the hallway, making  
it almost impossible to see the floor. Trowa hadn't been in school all  
day, and the only time Quatre saw Wu Fei was at lunch, though it was only  
briefly. He was beginning to wonder if the Asian boy had other plans than  
what he was letting on, but he decided not to be too nosey about it and let  
the boy get on with his business. What about Trowa, though?  
  
He closed his locker loudly, just about slamming it shut. He began pushing  
his way through the crowd of students quickly, not wanting to have an  
encounter with Ian or any of his lackeys. He didn't know where Wu Fei went  
after school. Perhaps he rode on the bus, or had his own, private ride?  
Quatre still wished he had his own ride. Why his father wouldn't allow  
that, he did not know.  
  
Walking out of the two, big front doors of the school, Quatre began walking  
down the stone steps. The sky above had gathering clouds covering the sun,  
hiding it face from the people below it. The wind was beginning to pick  
up, though not too much- just enough to send a quick chill down Quatre's  
spine. He gripped his school bag tightly, and then proceeded his way past  
the school church, where Duo and his student were.  
  
"There you are."  
  
Quatre froze in his tracks. Ian and his three friends stood before the  
blonde.  
  
"And where're you going, little faggot?"  
  
Quatre bit his lower lip, looking for any means of escape. The first place  
he saw was the church. He glanced at it, then to Ian and his friends, then  
back to the church. Abruptly, he began making a dash for it. One of Ian's  
friends, Mike, sprinted after him.  
  
Unfortunately, just as Quatre made it to the steps of the large church, he  
was tackled from behind by Mike. He grunted as his school bag fell before  
him, landing on the steps of the ancient building. Just then, Ian, Wyatt,  
and his third friend made it over to Quatre and Mike, smirks on all their  
faces.  
  
"Because of you, you little shit, I got detention," said Ian as Mike got  
off of the blonde. The four students surrounded the smaller boy,  
disallowing him an escape route. Quatre swallowed as he forced himself to  
look at Ian, hopeful to make his way out of the situation without getting  
hurt.  
  
"Look, I just want to go home..."  
  
Just then, Wyatt pushed Quatre towards Ian. Before the blonde could  
collide with the taller boy, he felt a strong fist slam into his face. He  
stumbled back helplessly, but just then, he felt another fist implanted  
into his stomach. He whimpered loudly in pain as he was pushed forward  
again from behind, only to meet another one of Ian's fierce punches to the  
face. The slight metallic taste of blood was instantly detected in his  
mouth, though he could to nothing to change it at the moment.  
  
Suddenly, Quatre was being attacked from all sides. Pain coursed through  
his body with each punch, or kick that impacted his body. He didn't even  
notice that he had fallen to the ground and was curled up into a tight  
fetal position, trying to block himself. Ian and his friends laughed and  
continued to beat him.  
  
~*~  
  
"Okay, how about this, you go and kill the people that are on my schedule  
while I continue to do this mission alone?" Duo suggested, just about  
finished with all the windows except the one that he was working on. Hilde  
pouted.  
  
"You have a couple of lives scheduled to take this afternoon. If I take  
those for you, will you let me help on your mission?" she asked. Duo  
paused for a moment, before removing the feather duster from the window and  
turning to her.  
  
"Maybe. It depends on-"  
  
They both heard students laughing by the entrance of the church. Duo  
shrugged it off, and then continued.  
  
"It depends on how well of a job you do, okay?"  
  
The laughing wouldn't stop. A muscle in his brow twitched. Damn kids.  
  
"I know you have a tendency to-"  
  
Before he could continue, he grunted in annoyance. The laughing wouldn't  
stop. Irritated, he walked up to the entrance of the church and jerked the  
doors open, ready to yell at whoever loitered there.  
  
"SHUT UP YOU STUPID-"  
  
Ian and his friends suddenly stopped. All were crowded in a circle as they  
stared at Duo like a deer caught in headlights.  
  
"Shit!" Ian yelled. Suddenly, he and his friends dispersed as quickly as  
possible from the scene, leaving a beaten Quatre behind on the ground. Duo  
looked down at the blonde and bit his lip again.  
  
"Shit..." he whispered to himself, quickly approaching the blonde. He  
kneeled down beside him.  
  
"Hey, Quatre! You okay? It's me, Duo."  
  
Quatre whimpered through his tears as he still lay on the ground. As Duo  
laid a hand on him, he twitched. At his words, though, he peeked out from  
his position, looking up at Duo, his vision blurry through the tears.  
  
"D-Duo?" he said, before slowly looking up. Duo nodded. Suddenly, Quatre  
leapt up and threw his arms around Duo, holding onto him tightly. Duo,  
still kneeled on the ground, stayed there as he let the blonde cling to him  
and cry. Hilde walked to the entrance of the church, stopping in her  
tracks as she saw Quatre clinging tightly to Duo. Though she was beginning  
to feel jealous, she didn't say anything.  
  
***  
  
"Thanks for taking me home, Duo..." Quatre said, he and Duo standing in his  
room. Duo performed his teleporting trick that he used on Quatre before.  
He nodded to the blonde.  
  
"Sorry 'bout what happened," he said. Quatre shook his head, wiping his  
eyes.  
  
"Don't apologize... You don't have reason to," he said. Duo nodded, though  
he still gazed at Quatre, concerned.  
  
"You're gonna be okay, right?" he asked. The smaller boy nodded slowly,  
sitting down on the edge of his bed.  
  
"Yeah... Thank you so much for bringing me home..."  
  
Duo shrugged, "No problem."  
  
There was a pause between the two boys. Duo scratched the back of his  
neck, and then walked over to Quatre's large window.  
  
"I should be going now. Got things to do, people to kill, y'know?" he  
said, opening it up. Quatre nodded slowly. Duo nodded also in reply, and  
then stepped up to the window sill, taking a hold of it steadily. Before  
he left go, though, he turned back to Quatre.  
  
"If you need anything from me, you can find me at the church, or just wait  
for me at our little sanctuary, okay?"  
  
Quatre looked up from his bed, suddenly confused. Wasn't Duo supposed to  
kill him?  
  
"Our... little sanctuary?" he asked, his voice soft. Duo nodded.  
  
"Yeah, y'know, the place where we first met. Nobody knows about it but  
us," he paused for a moment, "and those damned angels, but I doubt they'll  
be there again," he finished with a grin. Quatre stared at him confused,  
unaware of the slight blush that was returning to his face. Duo waved, and  
then leapt out of the window, his braid the last thing visible.  
  
"Aren't you... supposed to kill me?" Quatre whimpered, lying down on his  
bed. 'Trowa, why didn't you save me...?' he asked himself. He felt his  
eyes filling with tears again.  
'Trowa... I don't know what to think...' he though, an image of Duo coming  
to mind. His cheeks flushed once more. He then buried his face in the  
pillows, almost clinging to them in frustration.  
  
~*~  
  
"Aren't you supposed to kill him!?"  
  
Duo raised his hands. He was inside the church once again, where an angry  
Hilde stood.  
  
"Heeeey, it's all good! I'm not supposed to kill him just yet," he said,  
lowering his hands. Hilde eyed him suspiciously, her arms folded over her  
chest.  
  
"Whaddya mean? I thought Treize's orders were to kill him?"  
  
"Not yet."  
  
Duo and Hilde turned to the sound of the voice, where Heero stood, a stern  
expression upon his face. Duo growled, silently.  
  
"Both angels and demons are only to keep an eye on him, though you demons  
are trying to kill him from us," the angel said. Hilde glared at Heero,  
quickly unfolding her arms and standing beside Duo.  
  
"That's what I don't get about you demons. You're so irrational. You kill  
without giving matters a second thought," Heero continued. Duo narrowed  
his eyes at him. Before he could speak up, Hilde stepped up.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?! We're not the ones killing innocent people  
for some stupid prophecy that you angels believe in!" she said, suddenly  
pointing to the glass stained window high above in the church- the one with  
the angel with the black wings. Heero stared at the smaller demon.  
  
"And we don't kill innocent people just because we feel like it."  
  
At that, Hilde suddenly charged at Heero. The angel stood still, watching  
her every move. Before she could reach him though, Duo grabbed her from  
behind.  
  
"Idiot! Don't be so rash!" he yelled as he yanked her back. Hilde gritted  
her teeth as Duo pushed her back, looking back to the angel.  
  
"Look, Heero, I don't know what's so special about Quatre, except that he's  
got something to do with some kinda 'Holy Prophecy'," the shinigami said,  
his voice thick with sarcasm at the prophecy remark, "but it's -my- job to  
make sure he doesn't live up to that prophecy!"  
  
"And it's my job to make sure he does," said the Japanese in a monotone.  
  
"And if he isn't who you angels think he is?" Duo asked. Heero continued  
to stare at the shinigami with a stern expression.  
  
"Then we kill him." 


	6. Eclipsed Hubris

(I do not own Gundam Wing, blah blah blah. I apologize for the late update- my muse hates me)

* * *

"Eclipsed Hubris"

* * *

Placing his hands upon the bottom trim of his shirt, Quatre gripped the fabric with a small grasp as he pulled it over his shoulders, letting it fall carelessly to the floor, leaving his chest bare. He looked at himself in the mirror, making a face at the bruises that were beginning to appear upon his chest and abdomen. It hurt whenever he would turn a certain way, or when he would sit himself up. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, deciding it would be better to take a shower and tend to his wounds, before anybody suspected anything.

Turning away from the beaten sight in the mirror, the school boy made his way across his room, his brief destination being the towel closet just outside of his quarters. As he withdrew himself from his room and opened the rather large closet door, he heard a distant gasp. Before he could turn around to see who had seen him, his oldest sister had approached him at record speed.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Parted lips began to offer an explanation, though he was too late to even pronounce the first syllable. Quatre's oldest sister's hands grasped his upper arms almost firmly, squeezing them as her eyes quickly scanned over his body.

"Who did this to you, Quatre?!"

"A-Ah! Irea, that hur-"

"WHO?!"

"You're hurting me!"

Biting her lower lip, the taller blonde released her older brother, giving a small apology as she ushered him back into his room. Having no other choice but to follow his sister's orders, Quatre steadily made his way back into his chambers, making a gradual beeline for the edge of his bed. As he sat upon it, his oldest sister stood before him, her knees bent with her hands upon them as she continued to observe her brother.

"Sorry about that. Now tell me, what happened, and who did this to you?"

Now it was his turn to bite his lower lip. He lifted his arms as directed by his sibling, exposing even more dreadful bruises to the young doctor.

"I... ran into some trouble at school..."

"And?" Her fingertips were now exploring and prodding the young man's skin, searching for any signs of disorder. Quatre winced at the sudden investigation.

"And... this is the result."

A sigh slipping from her, Irea stood up fully, though her eyes were still locked onto her brother's chest and abdomen, performing once more visual scan, "Well, setting aside a couple of bruised ribs, I don't see anything serious... However, I'd like to check up on you again soon..."

A brief silence ensued her update, Quatre averting his gaze to the soft carpeted floor in response. With that silence came Irea taking a seat beside her brother, looking to him with a concerned look in her eyes, the kind that expressed her consideration and worry regarding her beloved brother.

"What's been happening at school, Quatre?"

Still keeping his attention focused onto the carpet, Quatre's small fists gradually turned into fists. However, soon after, he felt his sister's arms wrap themselves around his petite shoulders, drawing him into a close embrace. As he unconsciously sunk into her warmth, she reached up and began wiping away her brother's tears.

* * *

"So what's up with you and Hee-"

"Shut up!"

"Duo! I'm serious! I know something went on between you tw-"

"LA LA LA LA LA FUCKING LA!"

"DUO!"

Duo sat himself upon a tree, rotting with a blackened hue, yet strong enough to support the demons weight. He had his palms placed firmly against his ears as he purposely blacked out Hilde from his hearing. The girl was standing at the foot of the tree, her wings outstretched as she attempted to keep her calm. It was rare when her superior performed such an act, not to mention it annoyed her greatly.

"Duo, I'm serious! What kind of teacher are you?!"

Instantly halting with his childish act, the braided demon paused, his palms still placed at his ears, though his eyes averted down to the female. He sighed as he then rested his arms at his side, grasping the branch briefly before slipping himself down from it, his feet landing in the warm, vividly crimson liquid that pooled about the scenery. There was no sun, nor moon; only the unusual color in the supposed sky was brightening up the landscape with a red hue. More dead trees as the one Duo was perched upon occupied the area, their branches eerily twisting and reaching for the air. Perfect silence attended the lonely place. It was so quiet, that even thoughts were almost heard.

"Hilde, how many times have I told you that what went on during my life doesn't concern you?" the shinigami asked, approaching the smaller demon. Hilde, however, kept her ground as her narrowed eyes challenged her teacher.

"It's unfair... I told you how I died and what happened!"

"Yeah, your drunken father raped you and you killed yourself."

"-And about you-"

"I killed myself as well."

"But... why? It has to do with Heero, doesn't it?"

It was Duo's turn to narrow his eyes in a deadly glare at the girl. In the far distance, the sound of ruffling feathers of a crow would be heard, its squawks signifying another life having found its way to the forlorn set.

"Is it really that fucking important?" the braided shinigami growled, his teeth gritted. Hilde, still keeping her ground, only took a step forward.

"Was it really that traumatizing?"

Wings fully outstretched behind him, Duo began to reach up with his left hand, anger clearly written upon his face. In almost an instant, he had transformed from childish joker to enraged reaper, as was clearly inscribed in his violet orbs.

"Duo."

The calm voice summoned the two demons attention back towards the tree where Duo was first perched. Lady Une advanced towards the conflicting two with slow steps, each one parting the deep liquid beneath her to allow her access. Her hair hung below her shoulders, her glasses absent from her face.

"You requested to speak with Treize."

Duo perked a brow at the women, gradually lowering his hand back down to his side as he turned to face her, "Yeah?"

"He can't see you at the moment, however, I'm here as his representative. What were your questions?" she asked, her voice as soft as a whispering angel's. Quite odd, considering the fact that Une was a dominating succubus half of the time.

Duo took a step back, the palm of his left hand attaching itself to his left hip, his head cocked to the side somewhat as his bangs fell over his features, a puzzled look over passing his anger only seconds ago, "Yeah, tell me, when the hell am I supposed to kill Quatre? I mean, one minute, Treize told me to kill him, and next, I'm being told to stop. Mind giving me the 411?"

Without an expression change, Une slipped both her hands into her lap, refusing to break eye contact with the other brunette.

"I apologize on behalf of Treize. Yes, we'd prefer you not kill Quatre. Reason being that he may actually be of value to us, once he passes on with his life. The angels have put a halt to their plans as well."

Duo face faulted at her words, soon before replying, "Waiting for Quatre to 'awaken'. Yeah yeah, I heard that before. Why the sudden change of plans, though?"

"Having recent meetings with Milliardo Peacecraft."

The demon's expression instantly changed to that of understanding, his left brow perking at his information, "Oh."

"Also, Mr. Maxwell, as you keep your eye upon Mr. Winner, you have another life to take later this evening. However, you're required to take Hilde with you, for you may have to take this individual by force."

"Feh. All right. Y'hear that, Hild-"

Just as Duo turned around to his student, he was greeted with the crimson desert.

* * *

Rapid footsteps made their way down the hallway of St. Alexandria Catholic School. It was lunch break now, as the narrow hall was overwhelmed by various students. However, there was one student in particular shoving and making his way down the said hall. As an assortment of young men and women were literally shoved out of the way by an angered Wu Fei, his target now in view.

"BARTON!"

The tall young man stopped as he reached up for his locker. Before he could even begin to register who had called him, he was grabbed by the collar of his school uniform and shoved violently against his locker. He didn't even do as much as grunt.

"Where the hell were you yesterday?!"

Various ongoing students cast a glance to the two boys, though giving no more. Trowa stared at Wu Fei with an un-amused expression at the abrupt action.

"I wasn't feeling well."

"Bullshit! Do you know what happened to Quatre yesterday?!" Wu Fei barked. Trowa's eyes widened ever so slightly in realization at the other student's words. The latter gradually began to subside his grip upon the brunette.

"We're going on a little trip after school, Barton," the Chinese growled. Unable to do much else other than nod in agreement, Trowa did just that.


End file.
